In MDZS (and much of other Chinese media), we see our main characters use instruments as a way to advance the story. While the use of instruments, especially in xianxias, stems from Taoist and traditional spiritual beliefs, the presence of instruments as a method of change is a very significant phenomenon in Asian diasporas. Like how chengqing became a symbol for the yiling laozu’s defiant presence, Asian American diasporas have used music as a way to initiate communal change.
Because of this, I wanted to start a short blog series exploring different musical movements used in Asian diaspora history !! Music, culture, and politics are huge interests of mine so… hehe.
1– A Grain of Sand: Music for the Struggle of Asians in America
Released 1970’s in response to the decade’s ongoing Asian American Movement
One of the most prominent examples of Asian American musical movements and recognized as the first album of “Asian American music,” Chris Kando Iijima, Nobuko JoAnne Miyamoto, and William “Charlie” Chin created songs to demonstrate the struggles of Asian Americans at the time. From songs like We are the Children, which explained the artists’ ancestry and “othered” identities in America, and Yellow Pearl, a reference to the Yellow Peril and societal oppression, the album challenged Asian American oppression and vocalized emotional struggles faced by diasporas throughout the nation.
Musically, traditional instruments (like the oh-so-familiar dizi!) were occasionally woven into an American, jazz-and-folk style of song.
In addition to connecting to their own culture, these artists used their music as a way to protest against war and advocate for ethnic studies. In pan-asian ethnic enclaves (ie. Chinatowns), they organized in support of locals, small businesses, and established art workshops and social service centers. They went on to inspire other artists through live performances, such as filmmaker Tadashi Nakamura, and each artist would go on to establish their own projects. For Miyamoto, it would be the Great Leap Inc., a community performance organization in Los Angeles. For Chin, it would be New York’s Chinatown History Project, which would become the Museum of Chinese in the Americas. And for Iijima, he would go on to become a lawyer for Native Hawaiian rights.
